'Fast Money' Recap: Downward Pressure

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly finished flat on the day while the Nasdaq closed lower by roughly 0.5% Thursday.

Brian Kelly, founder of Brian Kelly Capital, said the PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) bounced off strong support near $86.70. He added that it is likely to bounce from current levels.

Pete Najarian, co-founder of optionmonster.com and trademonster.com, pointed out the continued downward pressure in expensive stocks such as Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN), while names like Intel (INTC), Qualcomm (QCOM), Microsoft (MSFT), Caterpillar (CAT), and General Electric (GE) all continue to perform relatively well.

Karen Finerman, president of Metropolitan Capital Advisors, also pointed out the weakness in momentum names and said shares of Macy's (M) have done well lately.

Guy Adami, managing director of stockmonster.com, said Priceline (PCLN) is not expensive in terms of valuation and looks good from the long side. He added that investors could also try Twitter (TWTR) on the long side, too.

Rick Sherlund, managing director at Nomura Securities, said CEO Satya Nadella is doing a great job so far at Microsoft (MSFT). He added the company is focusing more on mobile and cloud rather than solely focusing on Windows.

He said if the company bought back 10% of its shares and cut costs by 10%, Microsoft stock would appreciate by $10. He added that the enterprise business is a big opportunity for the company. Sherlund has a buy rating on Microsoft with a $45 price target.

Najarian agreed with the price target. Kelly added that he is long Microsoft, which has support at $39.

Najarian said investors will likely do better being long Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) rather than Caesars Entertainment (CZR), which just announced a secondary offering of seven million shares.

Finerman said the cash distribution denial for Citigroup (C) is bad news. However, she argued that the long-term story remains intact.

Najarian said he likes Citigroup, but suggested that it spin off some of its assets because they are not being managed well enough in terms of risk control.

Shares of LululemonAthletica (LULU) climbed after reporting better-than-expected earnings results. Najarian said the company's international expansion is certainly something to be excited about, despite the company's weaker-than-expected guidance.

TriNet Group (TNET) jumped 19% in its public debut. Adami said he is a buyer of Automatic Data Processing (ADP), with a stop-loss at $75.

Kelly said investors could buy Visa (V) at current levels. However, he opted to be a short-seller of the stock near $225. He added that he didn't want to own Visa or MasterCard (MA) because the companies' swipe fees (revenue) will decline in the future.

John Jannarone of CNBC was a guest on the show. While soda volumes continue to decline, one drink in particular is declining in a much more rapid fashion: Coca-Cola's (KO) Diet Coke. He added there is too much negative press about diet drinks, and raising the price isn't enough to offset the sales decline.

Even lowering the price of Diet Coke to sell more didn't work, he added -- not that that's an attractive long-term business model. He suggested the company focus on other products or categories to generate growth. There's no quick fix for the Diet Coke decline, he concluded.

Kelly pointed out the strength in social media stocks such as Facebook, Twitter and Yelp (YELP). He's a buyer of Yelp with a $75 stop-loss. Adami added that Yelp has a high short interest, which could drive shares higher.

Najarian said he likes Facebook because the company continues to innovate.

Dr. John Knopf, founder and CEO of Acceleron Pharma (XLRN), said the company is focused on making great products despite not having any on the market. The first product is expected to launch sometime in 2017, and the company also has an encouraging partnership with Celgene (CELG).

He added that the chronic kidney disease drug market could be worth $5 billion. However, the entire biotech sector appears to be in the middle of a pullback.

Najarian's top biotech pick is Amgen (AMGN) because of its valuation, drug pipeline and dividend yield.

GameStop (GME) fell 4% and was the first stock on the show's "Pops & Drops" segment. Najarian said the stock could bottom soon and he was looking for a long entry.